It is known that the loading of tape cassettes, such as audio and/or video cassettes, is carried out by automatic machines which have a loading station at which the individual cassettes are automatically taken from a supply magazine or conveyor and are filled with a predetermined amount of use tape, coming from a pancake detachable mounted on a support hub. The loaded cassettes are then sent to a reception point located at position spaced from the loading station.
Various methods and apparatus have been employed to collect the loaded cassettes which are released from the loading station. Applicant, in prior stand-alone tape loading machines, collected the loaded cassettes at a reception station directly below the loading station. A pair of opposed rows of bristles kept the received cassettes in an upright position after they had been pushed forward by pusher mechanism. When no more cassettes could be accommodated at the reception station the machine would sense this condition and would shut itself down. Thus, constant operator attention was required to keep the reception station sufficiently free to eliminate machine downtime.
A similar, but more complicated approach is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,111 to Kincheloe et al. A separate stacker/stamper device was attached to an ordinary tape loading machine which slid received cassettes to a first position in which a stamping device (similar to a "Bates" stamper used in law offices to uniquely identify produced documents) stamped the top of the cassette with a printed code. After stamping, the cassette was transferred to a collection device which oriented the cassettes in alternating directions in a substantially vertical stack. This device, like applicant's previous device, could cause the machine to shut down when full and thus required frequent operator attention. Still further, in many instances there is a preference for the orientation of cassettes in a single direction in which the stamped code can be readily seen.
With the development of tape loading machines which can transport loaded cassettes away from the tape loading machine by conveyor, has come a need for a device which can stack and stamp large volumes of cassettes in a quick and efficient manner without significant operator intervention.